Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 21 May 1996

Vol. 465 No. 6

Written Answers. - Grant Payments.

Donal Moynihan

Question:

296 Mr. Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the amount of money that is currently available for payment of grants under the control of farmyard pollution scheme; the reason farmers are not being paid these grants; and the reason farmers are being told that they have to wait until 1997 for payment. [10351/96]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. Yates)

On coming into office, I reviewed the operation of the scheme for the control of farm pollution in the light of the inadequate funding available. Following negotiations with the Minister for Finance and the European Commission, revised funding arrangements were put in place to meet potential demand from applications on hand in April 1995. These arrangements involved the use of the overall inflator under the Operational Programme for Agriculture, Rural Development and Forestry, the transfer of some funds from other elements of the programme and the bringing forward of substantial funds, already available in the operational programme, into 1996 and 1997 from later years.

My Department was thereby enabled to expedite payments in 1995 and 1996 to existing approved applicants according as investment works were carried out and also to issue approvals to outstanding applicants on hands on the understanding that the grants in such cases would be paid in 1997 when further funds became available. This represented a substantial improvement on the position which such applicants would otherwise have had to face.

To date £37 million has been paid to applicants who have carried out work approved under the scheme. All applications for payment received in my Department's payment section up to 3 May, 1996 have been paid and I am satisfied that there is no delay in the processing of these applications.